Ellen Arnold, on behalf of the Texas PTA, is speaking today to a group of Bosnians visiting the US through the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, which fosters citizen-to-citizen diplomacy for emerging leaders.  The Bosnians are meeting with the Texas PTA to learn about the organization and its work in Texas schools.  The delegation want to know more about how parents become a vital team member of their children’s education experience.

Each year, Global Austin, which is coordinating the visit holds meetings and opportunities for cross-cultural sharing for over 400 international dignitaries from over 90 countries.  The topics range from agriculture to zoning and bring in emerging leaders from government, non-profits, academia, journalism and the private sector.  The program has been in existence since after WWII and famous alumni of this State Department program include Gordon Brown, Queen ‘Mamohato Seeiso, Tony Blair, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher, Nicolas Sarkozy, Hamid Karzai, Indira Gandhi, Felipe Calderón and Mikheil Saakashvili just to name a few.